The impact of the level of scientific evidence in preprints about COVID-19 on their sharing on Twitter (X) Brazil

Objective:  This study aims to investigate the level of scientific evidence of preprints about COVID-19 shared on Twitter (X) in Brazil, between 2020 and June 2023, and the impact of these shares on the public debate about the New Coronavirus pandemic in Brazil. Research problem: the analysis focused on answering objective questions around altmetrics, which are: 1) What level of scientific evidence do the most shared preprints about COVID on Twitter (X) Brazil present? 2) With what intention were the preprints shared according to their level of scientific evidence? 3) What is the profile of the users who shared these preprints.

Method:  The study mapped preprints about COVID-19 between the years 2020 and June 2023, identifying the level of scientific evidence of each of them, as well as the content of their shares on Twitter (X). Literature review, documentary research, and analysis of scientific evidence, content, and altmetrics were used.

Results:  The lower the level of scientific evidence of the preprints, the greater the number of their shares on Twitter (X). Messages categorized as “anti-vaccine movement” were the most recurrent, and a significant portion of users presented themselves as “conservative”.

Conclusions:  This study found a tendency to disseminate fake and/or distorted news based on the then-eminent scientific production on the COVID-19 pandemic. The high level of misinformation present in these shares highlighted the need for scientific information to be interpreted based on scientific evidence, as opposed to discourses contrary to science.

KEYWORDS:
Scientific communication; Scientific evidence; COVID-19; Altmetrics; Disinformation